BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2486
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2486 (Feuer)
As Amended April 8, 2010
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 10-0
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Tran, Brownley, | | |
| |Evans, Hagman, Jones, | | |
| |Knight, Lieu, Monning, | | |
| |Nava | | |
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Seeks to enact the narrowly-crafted Teen Alcohol
Safety Act of 2010, adding California to the large preponderance
of states that impose potential "social host" liability on
adults who knowingly provide alcohol to minors who are
subsequently injured or killed as a result of this lack of
parental care. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that a social host, as narrowly defined, who is 21
years of age or older and who knowingly furnishes alcoholic
beverages to a person under 21 years of age, may be held
legally accountable for damages suffered by that young person,
or for injury to the person or property, or death of, any
third person resulting from the consumption of those
beverages.
2)Carefully limits the measure's scope by defining a "social
host" as only a natural person who provides alcohol to guests
at his or her residence with no motive for pecuniary gain
regardless of whether any remuneration is given for the
alcohol. However, a licensed or commercial vendor of alcohol
or anyone who is required to obtain a license or permit to
provide alcohol for a social function, is not a social host
for purposes of the bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides (unlike the approach of the great majority of states)
that no social host in California who furnishes alcoholic
beverages to any person, including minors, may be held legally
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accountable for damages suffered by that person, or for injury
to the person or property of, or death of, any third person,
resulting from the consumption of those beverages.
2)Provides that an insurer is not liable for a loss caused by
the willful act of the insured.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This non-controversial and bi-partisan parental
responsibility bill seeks to enact the Teen Alcohol Safety Act
of 2010, which would add California to the large preponderance
of states who impose potential "social host" liability on those
adults who knowingly provide alcohol to minors who are
subsequently injured or killed as a result of this lack of
parental responsibility. Currently, unlike the approach of the
great majority of states, a social host in California who
provides alcoholic beverages to any person, including even
minors, surprisingly to many, may not be held legally
responsible for any damages suffered by that person or by any
third person resulting from consumption of those beverages -
even if serious injuries or deaths result to minors.
In support of this measure the author states, "The Teen Alcohol
Safety Act of 2010 is all about parental responsibility. It is
a measure designed to save young lives by acting as a
long-needed disincentive to irresponsible adults who knowingly
provide underage teens with alcohol in their homes. California
has seen a spate of heart-wrenching tragedies in recent years,
including the preventable recent death of Shelby Allen, as teens
have increasingly engaged in bouts of binge drinking that have
led to hospitalizations and deaths. The most shocking episodes
involved parents or other adults who knowingly provide alcohol
to underage minors - and this bill only targets those most
egregious situations. ?Although it is a crime under state law to
supply alcohol to a minor, California is one of only a small
handful of states that do not provide for parental
responsibility in such shocking cases."
In support of the narrow approach taken in the bill, the author
underscores the measure is not about somehow imposing "automatic
liability" on any adult who may have inadvertently provided
access to alcohol by a minor. The bill simply removes the
absolute bar to any potential liability in any situations for
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adult social hosts who knowingly provide alcohol to minors.
Under the bill, the families of a minor injured or killed by
alcohol will still need to prove in court all the elements of
negligence - that an adult social host, as narrowly defined
below, breached his or her responsibility to uphold the law,
knowingly provided alcohol to the child, and injuries or death
thereby resulted from this action.
According to the National Institutes of Health, underage alcohol
use remains a pervasive and persistent problem with serious
health and safety consequences to minors. Alcohol is literally
the drug of choice for most young people in the United States,
and it is still used by more young people than tobacco or
illegal drugs. Indeed, underage alcohol use actually kills more
young people than all illegal drugs combined -- and alcohol is
the leading contributor to death from injuries, which is the
main cause of death for people under the age of twenty-one.
Tragically, every year, roughly 5,000 young people under the age
of twenty-one die from causes related to underage drinking.
Based on the devastating consequences tied to underage drinking,
it is useful to consider how minors obtain access to alcohol.
According to a 2005 American Medical Association (AMA) survey,
over half of the teens surveyed reported they obtained alcohol.
Amazingly, one-third of these teens responded that it was easy
to get alcohol from their own consenting parents, and almost
half responded that it was easy to get alcohol from a friend's
parents. In addition, one in four teens has attended a party
where minors were drinking directly in the presence of parents.
The recent tragedy of Shelby Allen has helped inspire this
measure. In December of 2008, Shelby Allen, a 17-year-old high
school student, died of acute alcohol poisoning the morning
after an overnight gathering with other teenagers at a friend's
house. Shelby became violently ill and lapsed into a
semiconscious state during the night, and when she was
discovered the next morning, this very promising teenager passed
away. Though the friend's parents were home that night, the
facts of the case remain unclear. Shelby's parents considered
using the California civil courts in an attempt to gain answers
about this tragedy, but were shocked to discover, as many other
parents have, that unlike most other states, California's
current law continues to grant all social hosts complete and
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unqualified immunity from all legal responsibility, even in
cases involving the deaths of minors.
Shelby's tragic death is just one example of the devastating
consequences that can follow underage drinking. As a result,
many groups, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the
PIRE Institute noted earlier, recommend our legal system should
discourage parents from allowing underage drinking in the home,
and they strongly support the establishment and enforcement of
targeted social host laws like the one proffered in this measure
to reduce access to alcohol by underage youth.
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert and Eunie Kim / JUD. /
(916) 319-2334
FN: 0003858